Researchers have developed a new highly effective therapeutic for pain relief by altering the chemical properties of an antinausea drug, netupitant. The modified drug is able to enter the intracellular membrane-bound endosome and target the GPCRs therein, rather than at the cell surface, that leads to optimal pain relief. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on May 22,2023, was led by Nigel Bunnett, Professor and Chair of Molecular Pathobiology at NYU College of Dentistry, and illustrates how GPCR-mediated pain signaling occurs inside the endosomes rather than at the surface, highlighting the need for drugs that can reach receptors within the cells itself. Read More
In a study published in Cancer Cell on May 25, 2023, researchers from the University of Chicago and colleagues reported that the inhibition of YTHDF2, an immune suppressor protein, can be a valuable strategy to improve radiotherapy outcomes by overcoming resistance while enabling extra help from the immune system. Read More
Cellular mediators like cytokines that are released as a reaction to cell injury or excessive stimulation can lead to the synthesis of chemotactic eicosanoid leukotriene B4 (LTB4) among others. This mediator acts as a potent chemokine promoting migration of macrophages and neutrophils into tissues during inflammation. Researchers from CNRS, Universitat de Barcelona and colleagues reported the synthesis and evaluation of new 1,4-benzodioxine derivatives with selective LTB4 antagonism activity that led to the identification of [I] as the lead compound, which had higher affinity for LTB4 receptor with an IC50 value of 288 nM. Read More
Research at Humanwell Healthcare (Group) Co. Ltd. has led to the development of heterocyclic 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of acute lung injury, diabetes, fibrosis, graft-vs.-host disease, heart failure, inflammatory bowel disease, alopecia and osteoporosis, among others. Read More
Benchsci (Scinapsis Analytics Inc.), has announced a CAD$95 million (US$70 million) series D funding round. The funds will be used to expand the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery platform, Ascend by Benchsci, which enables scientists to discover biological connections, reduce trial and error experimentation, and uncover risks early. Read More
Evaxion Biotech A/S has unveiled the technology behind its proprietary genetic adjuvant developed to enhance the effectiveness of DNA and mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer. Read More
Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, commonly known as Batten disease, is an inherited pediatric neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disease caused by mutations in the CLN5 gene. The disease is incurable and there is an urgent medical need for novel therapies. A murine model of Batten disease was developed to study a novel AAV vector that expresses CLN5, AAV9-CLN5. In the study by University College London investigators, the gene therapy, driven by the synapsin promoter, was intracerebroventricularly administered into neonatal Cln5-knockout mice. Read More
Researchers from Huidagene Therapeutics Co. Ltd. have evaluated the effects of adenine base editing (ABE)-induced exon skipping of exon 50 in a humanized mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Read More
Betta Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. has described hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF-2α; EPAS1) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of Von Hippel-Lindau disease, cancer, autoimmune disease and inflammatory disorders. Read More
